Groups Sue For Cook County, Ill., Judge Assignment Records

By Andrea Keckley

Two public interest groups and a legal news outlet sued the chief judge of Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the circuit clerk and the state's court administration director, alleging they withheld records showing when judges were authorized to handle other judges' cases, potentially concealing unauthorized rulings.

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Illinois' Curbs On Kalshi Sports Contracts Blocked For Now

By Elaine Briseño

An Illinois federal judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its gambling license requirements against Kalshi and Coinbase on Friday, saying that the companies' core sports betting contracts are likely federally regulated swaps.

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Verogen Genealogy Website Can't Escape DNA Privacy Suit

By Joyce Hanson

A California federal judge has preserved a proposed class action against the owner-operator of a genetic genealogy website, finding that the plaintiffs sufficiently showed that a technical loophole wrongly let law enforcement circumvent user opt-out privacy settings.

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High Court Won't Hear Chicago Workers' Vaccine Appeal

By Celeste Bott

The U.S. Supreme Court again refused Monday to weigh in on a challenge to COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements for Chicago city workers, declining to take up the case after the Seventh Circuit refused to revive their lawsuit in December.

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McDonald's Accused Of Using AI To Hike Menu Prices

By Celeste Bott

A potential class action filed in Illinois federal court Friday accuses McDonald's of flouting federal and state antitrust laws by using artificial intelligence to coordinate prices among independently owned restaurants, causing customers to overpay and average menu prices to rise by roughly 40% in a five-year period.

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High Court Won't Review United Challenge To Vax Bias Class

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review class certification in a religious bias lawsuit over United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found no issue with the trial court's decision.

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Brief

PVC Pipe Price-Fixing Settlements Get Final OKs

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge has given her final blessing to more than $200 million in settlements consumers have struck in their antitrust suit accusing major polyvinyl chloride pipe producers of participating in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy, teeing the rest of the case up for the evidence-gathering phase of litigation.

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7th Circ. Rejects Ex-Club Prez's Claim Of Fake Canceled Debt

By Zak Kostro

The Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a former country club president's claim that the club filed a fraudulent information return with the IRS reporting a canceled debt, saying he failed to make a case for overturning precedent that limited taxpayers' ability to seek damages for fraudulent return filings.

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3 Illinois Updates That Bolster Mortgage Lender Enforcement

Illinois lenders can use clarifications from recent legislative and judicial developments — a law defining the limitations period for home equity loans and two rulings on quiet title actions and lien expirations during foreclosures — to sharpen their enforcement tools and better protect their mortgage rights, says Stephanie Mulcahy at Hinshaw.

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Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

By Courtney Bublé

A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

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3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

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Cornell Hires Ex-Deputy AG Yates To Lead Internal Review

By Christine DeRosa

Following widespread public outrage over how a former student's rape allegations were handled, Cornell University has hired former deputy U.S. attorney general and King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates to lead an internal review of its policies and procedures.

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Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

By Dani Kass

Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

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Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

By Spencer Brewer

Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

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DOJ Says 12-Juror Rule Would Cause Unwarranted 'Upheaval'

By Brandon Lowrey

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to uphold precedent allowing states to use juries of fewer than 12 people in serious criminal cases, saying overruling it could unsettle thousands of convictions and force many states to change their criminal procedure laws.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Panter On Mediating Vs. Judging

By Cara Bayles and Kelley Marcano

When attorneys come before retired Judge Michael Panter, a former circuit court judge in Cook County, Illinois, they sometimes forget that he is not there to decide their cases, but to resolve them.

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UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

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